A Sniper Duel
by Dancing-Mantis
Summary: This is the story of two gamers who play Halo, and are rivals when it comes to sniping. Chapter 1 is told from the perspective of the 1st player, chapter 2 is told from the perspective of the 2nd player, and chapter 3 is told from both perspectives.
1. Enter Mantis

The bullet from his sniper rifle caught the other player in the head. "Killing Spree!" called the voice of the announcer. The other players on the stage groaned and sighed as they watched the carnage he was unleashing through the scope of his rifle. No one could touch him when he got his weapon.

But then, his screen shook, and displayed his dead body sprawled out atop the balcony he was perched on. KILLED BY: TakeSama the screen read to him. He stared at it in shock. How could anyone sneak up on him? He saw everything. The thin asian player a few seats down smiled and waved. The crowd that had come to watch the Halo Tournament gasped as they saw TakeSama's score rise, while his sunk.

Slowly, the other players were eliminated until it was between Sama and him. It was a sniper duel. The crowd oohed and aahed as the shots rung out, trying to lure the opponent out of their hiding spot. He glanced over at Sama, he was stone-faced, giving no indication as to whether he knew where he was hiding or not.

A small divider seperated each players screen, so he couldn't see anything that Sama did. His hands began to sweat. No one lasted this long in a match with him before. Another shot was fired by Sama. He tried to follow the trail of the bullet, but by the time he had found it, Sama had already moved. He grunted. He knew this map like the back of his hand, how could Sama still be hiding? He gave up, and ran through the map with his assault rifle aimed at every nook and cranny.

One shot rung out, and it was over. He was again faced with the image of his dead body laying on the ground. He looked over to Sama again. He was still stoic. He was a true sniper. The human announcer waited until the PostGame Carnage Report was displayed before calling the winner.  
"Takeshi Sama wins by 1 point! Is this the end of Mantis?"

No.

He'd never give up. He was patient, and had ultimate faith in his abilities, garnering him the moniker of Mantis, and he wasn't about to waste it. Takeshi was going to lose in the next tournament, and Mantis was going to make sure of that.

He played for hours on end, only stopping when absolutely necesarry to. He unlearned, learned, and relearned every sniper skill he had. He knew that the next match was going to come down to a sniper duel again, and he was going to be prepared. He used the sniper rifle in the Solo Mode every chance he got, but even on Legendary, the AI wasn't nearly good enough. He had friends over, and beat them as well. He needed a challenge, but there was none, except for Takeshi. That's when he had an idea. A brilliant, wonderful idea.

He flipped through the phone book, and found the right name. He dialed it and waited as the phone rung.

"Hello?"  
"Is this Takeshi Sama?"  
"Yes, may I ask who's calling?"

"This is Mantis, you beat me in the last Tourney"  
"Oh yeah! That was a great match! What do you need?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime, maybe play Halo or something..."

"Hey, that sounds cool, how about tomorrow?"

"Awesome, I'll see you at your house!"  
"Kay, bye!"  
"Bye."

He hung up the phone, and a rare grin cracked his usually serious appearance. He had a plan, and he had a way to execute it. Now, all he had to do was wait...

They both sat and stared at the TV. Mantis was watching every twitch Take made. He tried to keep his face as cold as Take, but he couldn't do it. He'd have to work on that. He noticed that Take started to lose his aim when under a lot of fire. Perhaps blindly firing at his position with an MA5B would work. He tried it. Take slipped and gave Mantis enough time to switch, zoom in, and score a clean headshot. He saw a small bead of sweat work its way down Take's face. That was it. Take got nervous when he was losing. He was _only_ a sniper. If Mantis could sneak to his position, he could take him out with a pistol, or even easier, a grenade. Mantis slowly crawled through the map, searching for Takes' hiding spot. A shot came from a cliff. _There_. He ran to the edge of the cliff and scooted along the edge until he came to a small indent. He crawled up a ladder inside and arrived behind Take. He pulled out his MA5B and splattered Take with it. His shields were down, but he wasn't done yet. He rushed up and melee'd him once. Take fell. Mantis shot a look over at his face. It was of pure shock. They continued to play. Mantis kept on killing him. Mantis smirked with satisfaction as Takes usual stoic appearance cracked under the constant pressure. His hands sweat and his face was moist with perspiration. The PostGame Carnage Report appeared after a while. Mantis had won by a margin of 7. Take put his controller down. Mantis watched, laughing inside with maniacal glee. This was it, all that was left was the final tourney, the one that would determine the best Halo Sniper in the country. All that was between Mantis and the title was Take, and Mantis was prepared to brush him aside like another nub. Mantis set his controller down and got up. He thanked Take for letting him over and playing Halo with him. He got ready, and left, skipping and hopping home.

This was it. He was here. He had travelled across the country to get here. E3. The final grounds for the National Halo Sniper Matches. For him, a small-city boy, E3 was _huge_. He wandered around the convention hall, taking it all in in awe. His pass was checked and rechecked by various security. He made his way to the center of the hall. There was an elevated stage about a foot off the ground. There were chairs attached to the stage. They were made of a plush material, soft, but firm. Shaped like eggs, they were clearly designed for prolonged seating. They were _gaming_ chairs. Specially made for this. Each chair had a controller in a special slot on the side, with each controller connected to it's own XBox. Mantis whistled in disbelief. Whoever was doing this had really pulled out all the stops. People were already seated in the chairs, practicing and honing skills. Mantis looked over their screens, seeing nothing but old tactics and dirty tricks. He knew how to counter them all. He sat down in a chair, not bothering to pick up a controller. He just wanted to sit and think over his new tactics. He had been going over them for the last 3 months, trying them out on friends and the like. He had even programmed a bot on his PC Version to act the same way. He had practiced and honed, and practiced and honed, and practiced and honed. He was ready now. It came down to this match. A hundred thousand dollar prize, and the title of Greatest Halo Gamer Ever.

"Will all the participants for the Halo Sniper Matches please find a seat and prepare!!!...."


	2. Enter Takeshi

A shot rung out. "Killing Spree!" the voice of the game announcer said. The other players voiced their exasperation. Mantis was too good. He planned to change that. There. He had gotten full of himself. He was in the open on a balcony. He applied a small amount of pressure to the trigger. Was he going to move? Would he retaliate angrily? He decided to take the risks. He pulled the trigger. His shot echoed and faded away. KILLED: Mantis appeared on his screen. Mantis looked over at him. He simply smiled and waved, trying to be polite. He went back to the screen. He began picking off other players one by one. Eventually, it ended up between Mantis and himself. Mantis was getting agitated, and Takeshi used it to his advantage. He continued to kill him, until he finally cracked, running around the map with an MA5B. _Remember, moving targets are easier to see, but harder to hit._ He settled his scope along the path of Mantis search for him. Mantis got closer to the spot, and Takeshi gripped the controller in apprehension. Would he miss and give away his position? He shot, scoring a headshot. The PostGame Carnage Report appeared, showing Takeshi's win. 49 to 50.

"Takeshi Sama wins by one point! Is this the end of Mantis?"  
Yes.

He was going to bring Mantis down, and use him to catapult himself to the top.

He continued to play idly. He had no tactics to practice. He simply played. He enjoyed it, and that was the best thing for him. He hung out with friends, shopped, did everything a normal teen would. He was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a book that a friend had lent him. "Enders Game". Good book. He liked it. The phone rang. _Probably a friend_, he thought as he answered it.

"Hello?"  
"Is this Takeshi Sama?"  
"Yes, may I ask who's calling?"

"This is Mantis, you beat me in the last Tourney"  
"Oh yeah! That was a great match! What do you need?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime, maybe play Halo or something..."

"Hey, that sounds cool, how about tomorrow?"

"Awesome, I'll see you at your house!"  
"Kay, bye!"  
"Bye."

So the great Mantis wanted to hang out with him. He understood almost right away. He was trying to learn his tactics, and exploit his weaknesses. He laughed. He had none to exploit. He was going to bring Mantis down, whether Mantis liked it or not.

They were seated on his couch. They were playing Halo. Take fell into a trance-like state, is only movements were in his fingers. 4 shots near his position. He aimed for where they came from, but his hand twitched as he pulled the trigger. Clean miss. Sweat started down his face. He thought Mantis had found something out. Mantis was gone now. He'd find him, though. He kept on sweeping the map. No luck, he wasn't there. He was hit from behind. Too many bullets, too fast. His shield dropped. He spun around, hoping to get a shot off, but Mantis was too quick. He smacked him in the head with the MA5B. He was down, that was it. How did he not see it? That wasn't the point, though; he had to keep playing. Slowly, Mantis killed him more and more. He fell out of the trance. Mantis won, by 7. That was it. Was it maybe a lucky break that Take won in the tournament, or was Mantis something else today? Mantis set down his controller, and put on his jacket. He thanked Take for letting him hang out and play Halo, and left. He was in shock. Mantis just _beat _him? He kept the game on, and had a friend over. He sniped and sniped and sniped and sniped. He _had_ to win the Nationals. If he didn't all of his hard work would have gone to nothing. He wasn't going to let that happen.

He sat down in the comfy chairs. He'd been here before, and he hadn't won, but this time, it was different. He idly played, owning the competition. He looked around. Mantis was already here, staring at everything. Good, that would give Take the edge. Mantis was nervous. He had already walked up and down the convention hall getting free stuff and pictures with booth-babes. Now, he was going to win a hundred thousand dollars. He was going to have all the booth babes he could ever want.

"Will all the participants for the Halo Sniper Matches please find a seat and prepare!!!...."


	3. The Finals

"Will all the participants for the Halo Sniper Matches please find a seat and prepare!!!...."

Mantis stayed where he was. He was ready to go. This was it. He picked up the controller and followed the announcers' instructions on what rules to set up. There were 50 Shields, Infinite Grenades, and All Vehicles. The match would be played in Blood Gulch. Perfect. Mantis was extremely proficient at this map. The game started. He ran to the Warthog and sped up into the darkened hill beyond Red Base. He had with him a Sniper Rifle and his trusty MA5B. He swept his scope across the map. Nothing yet. The people he was playing with really knew how to hide. There, the tip of someone's helmet peeked from behind a small barrier on Red Base. He pulled the trigger and smirked as the round caught the hapless player in the head. Takeshi was not as confident. His fingers twitched, throwing off his aim on clean kills more than once. Not once did Mantis or Takeshi hit each other in the first round. Mantis got 1st, Takeshi got 2nd. They and 6 others, out of the original 16, made it to the second round. Again, they didn't hit each other. Semifinal, 4 players total. These guys were _tough_. One of them had grabbed an Optic Camouflage. Mantis watched as he ran into the shadows. This made him completely invisible. The invisible player swept his scope, saw the the other player, who was perched in Red Base, and fired. He got the kill, but Mantis saw the trail. He fired once, breaking his opponents Optic Camo, rendering him visible. He lined up his crosshairs with his head and fired. It was more cat and mouse games like this for 10 minutes before the match was ended. Takeshi 1st. Mantis 2nd. The volunteers checked the controllers and clothing of both of them, to make sure they weren't cheating. They both were found to be fine. The map was changed, as well as the rules. They now played on Battle Creek. A small map, but designed for sniping. Plus, there was only one kill to win. Take climbed up on top of the rock bridge. He had specifically chosen a color to blend in with it. He was hard to see. He trained his scope on various spots, hoping to find Mantis. He turned around, expecting a surprise attack, but the attack didn't come. He went down from his spot. He was a lot easier to see now. He switched to his MA5B and crept into Blue Base. Mantis was in here. All he had to do was find him and take him out. Mantis wasn't expecting a direct attack. Mantis walked through blue base. He was stocking on ammo and grenades. He walked down one hallway and came face to face with Take. They were both a blur of motion as they fired blindly at each other. Take ran back and crawled behind a barricade. He switched to his sniper rifle and judged where Mantis would be. He leapt out and fired once. He looked again. Head Shot. That was it. The one kill. He had won. He was the best sniper in the country. He dropped the controller and leaned back. He realized he was standing up, crouching. He sunk back into the chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Mantis was not as relieved though. He had worked his tactics to a fine dust. There was no way he could lose, but he did. Take knew that Mantis was going to do that, and he decided to get the jump on _him_ first.

But how?

There was no way that Take knew what Mantis was up to. He had given to signals. It _was_ odd that he had come over to play Halo with him, since everyone knew that he hated his competition. Take was smart. Yes, Mantis realized. That was how he knew. He had changed his own tactics. That was it.

Now he had lost.

This pretty much made Mantis _snap_...


End file.
